Longtime Gulliver tennis coach honored with Herald Lifetime Achievement Award
Over nearly four decades in South Florida, high school tennis powerhouses formed and later faded away.
But the one program that remained a constant championship contender was Gulliver Prep.
And the Raiders’ longtime coach Kelly Mulligan led the efforts which achieved that consistency.
Along the way, Mulligan mentored hundreds of student-athletes as they prepared for careers inside and outside the sport.
After a Hall of Fame career that began in 1984 and featured a combined 20 state team championships and another seven runner-up finishes, Mulligan has stepped down as Gulliver’s tennis coach.
In recognition of her accomplishments and lasting legacy, Mulligan is the recipient of the Miami Herald’s Lifetime Achievement Award for the 2025-26 season.
“It’s overwhelming,” Mulligan said at a recent ceremony held at Gulliver during which she was honored. “I just did my job. I was fortunate to have so many wonderful players and a school that backed me and supported me.”
Mulligan, 66, started out as quite the tennis player herself.
She earned Miami Herald All-Dade first team honors for tennis in 1977 and 1978 while playing for Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart in Coral Gables.
It wouldn’t be long until she’d be imparting wisdom to other young players as a coach.
Mulligan joined Gulliver as an assistant coach on the boys’ team in 1982 and spent two seasons in that role until becoming head coach of both the boys’ and girls’ teams in 1984.
She’d spend 27 seasons coaching the boys, with a six-year pause from 1987 to 1992 for the birth of her two children, Billy and Keely.
Mulligan coached the girls teams at Gulliver for another eight seasons from 2019 to this past spring.
During that time, Mulligan led Gulliver’s boys to 10 state titles, including a streak of five in a row from 2007-2011 that is still tied with Coral Gables for the third-longest in state history. Mulligan led the girls to another 10 state titles.
The girls also claimed four state runner-up trophies and the boys had three.
Mulligan’s teams also combined to win 29 regional titles and 50 district championships.
Mulligan was inducted into the Gulliver Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014.
“After 45 years of Gulliver tennis, Kelly Mulligan leaves behind far more than wins and championships,” Gulliver athletic director Andre Torres read during a speech given at Mulligan’s retirement ceremony last month. “She leaves behind a culture, a standard, and a Gulliver Prep community that is forever changed by her leadership.”
In addition to numerous Miami Herald Coach of the Year awards, Mulligan was named the Florida Dairy Farmers Association’s Florida Coach of the Year multiple times and once was named the National Tennis Coach of the Year.
But Mulligan is always quick to redirect any praise to the players she coached.
Dozens of them along with former colleagues and rival coaches attended her retirement ceremony to show their appreciation for her outstanding career.
“There were great years like when the boys won five in a row and then the girls had some great runs,” Mulligan said. “I just feel lucky to have coached some great players and ones that always really wanted it.”
